The Rack

Over the years I have put together a system which was originally developed for my cover band and later used for church and community events.

At right is the core contents of that system housed in a Road Ready 10U Slant Rack / 14 U Vertical Rack System with Caster Board. I found the rack through craigslist. It came with two hi-end cassette decks (Marantz PMD501/TASCAM 302MKII) and two flattened locking wheels, a result of having been dragged, with wheels locked engaged, across the cement garage floor where it had been stored. Other than the wheels the rack was in excellent shape. The wheels were a real problem. The thing would shake radically when rolled across the floor and drove me crazy. Replacements wheels were a must. The Marantz deck became part of my home stereo and the TASCAM remains in the rack.

This unit is huge and heavy when fully loaded. Before the rack, I had everything mounted in smaller SKB cases which I was able to carry myself. But over time, the setup/breakdown connections needed between the components was time consuming and on occasion a source of anxiety. Because I am usually performing, I prefer to mitigate the risks and associated stress. I finally gave in and began looking for a single self contained rack. I knew that I would always be able to find someone at the event willing to help up or down a flight of steps and unload and load this into the back of my Yukon/XL. I am able to load and unload myself at home. More than one or two steps is a two person job. The benefit is that generally, there is little to no signal rerouting required one event to the next. I can get to the event, connect to power, amplifiers, speakers and mics and I am off and running.

At the heart of this system, I don't think I can say enough about the mixer. Mackie is absolutely amazing that they have been able to manufacture a 16 channel pro-quality mixer with more routing and configurations features than I could possibly ever need, although I have tried every feature at least once except the internal mods.

Prior to the Mackie, I had a Crate 8 channel with built in amp (live and learn). Once I found quality musicians and we began gigging weekly, I upgraded to the Mackie CR1604-VLZ. Eight channels were usually enough for the four piece band however I have recently used all 16 in several recent events. But that is the exception. 16 is more than enough. Channels for the small band, community function or battle of the bands.

This mixer is versatile. For each channel, there are six aux sends , a parametric eq, filters, mute, channel assignments... and the main has four subs, control room, and support for monitors (via subs). Every component is constructed as though it were going into battle. I have used this at hundreds of shows and it is still mint condition. Beyond versatility and construction, which could easily be reason enough to love this mixer, there is its sound quality. My band cut our demo tape live through this onto a four track and the recordings were outstanding. The headroom is massive and the signal crystal clear. A recording will show the short comings and there just aren't any. I very highly recommend this mixer.

The rack has the following components from top to bottom:

TASCAM 302MKII, a dual well deck with independent audio input and output for each well. An absolute killer deck in its day. High speed transport, pitch control, etc, etc. I keep in in the rack because folks will bring a tape to a talent show and need me to play it. Came free with the rack !
TASCAM CD-01U Pro a one space CD playback unit with remote control and a ton of features
RR-15 RackRider, 8 socket power conditioner and light module
Alesis MidiVerb4, midi contollable effects processor with up to 3 simultaneous effects including reverb, chorus, flange, delay, pitch
Aphex Aural Exciter, Type C with Big Bottom
dbx 1046 Quad Compressor/Limiter
dbx 266XL Compressor/Gate
dbx 215s Equalizer
Behringer Composer Expander/Compressor/Limiter/Gate
Peavy Q231F Dual 31 band eq with Feed Back Locating

The CR1604, CD-01U Pro, RR-15 and Peavy Q231F were all purchased new at my favorite music store, Russo's in Trenton. NJ. The other components were either free with the rack, given to me by a friend, won at a trade show, clearance merchandise or purchased used via ebay. I have a great system for not a lot of money.

Amplification

Over the years, I have accumulated three power amplifiers. Unlike the other components that found their way into a rack, the amps have remained in separate SKB rack cases. This allows me to:

Bring the power I need to the event
Place the amps at the stage with the monitors and speakers
Easily carry the amps which are extremely heav

The amps in order or procurement are as follows (all power ratings at 8 ohms):

    ROSS MEGA AMP 800, this is a 200watts/channel amp and 800 watts bridged mono. Russo's used to have a spring sale every year to sell off closeout equipment. I picked this thing up for a song after waiting in line at for four hours. This has always been used to power monitors. I have the manual for this and will post someday when I get a chance to scan it.
    Crown POWERTECH 2, at one gig, my crate power amp had intermittent output problems. Suddenly I found myself finishing a set with only the monitor. Ouch. I was able to get the Crate operational on the monitors and power the mains with the ROSS. The next day I went to where else... Russo's and bought this Crown. I never bought anything less than pro audio after that. The PT-2 is rated at 325watts/channel and 910 watts bridged mono.
    Crown Xs900, Mmmm ! This was a sweet addition. I did not know what headroom was (some might say I still don't). But when you double your power rating in the mains, you enter a different world of sound. I picked this up on eBay from a company in South Jersey. They had pulled it out of a bar that had upgraded their system and this had seen very little use. These are rated 600watts/channel and 2100watts bridged mono.

Total output on my usual configuration is the Xs900 on the mains and the PT-2 on monitors is 1800 watts in the mains and 920 watts in the monitors.

Speakers

If you put your money anywhere in a system, put it in the speakers. Somewhere, I can't remember where, I learned this and was wise enough to apply it when I began to build this system. All I had learned brought me to JBL. They had the top specs and were road tested. I knew these were going to be moved as many as three days a week and were. Purchased in 1992-93, they all still function perfectly today and have weathered the road well. Because of the expense, I had to buy them 2 at a time. I began with two JBL MR 825s out front, then two JBL MR 805 monitors. Then I bought two more mains and then two more monitors for a total of four mains and four monitors.At around $500 a piece, you do the math. Ouch ! So that is where the money is. But oh how they really make all the difference. Rather than sounding like a garage band that had gathered up its gear and went to the local bar to play, we had a very professional sound, even in the days of the Crate mixer and power amp. Both the 825s and 805s have a 15" speaker and a horn with the cross over built into each unit. They are both rated at 1000watts peak and I have never pushed them beyond 600watts. Every one in the band has their own monitor with a mix of what ever instrument or vocal combination they liked best.

The sound is just tremendous. Typically, I will daisy chain two speakers of each channel on the power amp using 12 gauge, 1/4" plug, heavy shielded, speaker cable. The cables are another place I did not skimp. The power amps are usually no more than 30 feet away from the speakers. Three monitors out front and one behind the snare/hi-hat. For the mains, I have two ultimate speaker stands, one placed on each side with one 825 on each and the second at the foot of the speaker.

This places sound right up front from the lower speaker and over the heads to the back from the speaker on the stand. The plastic cabinet corners used to protect the speaker and also stack the speakers have born the brunt of the years of use. The 805s are an odd shape as they can be angled in one of two positions based on available room. These are shots of the floor monitor in each of the two positions. Which angle to position the monitor in is determined on distance between the the monitor and the performer. That odd corner takes a beating and I have lost several of the corners over the years. They can be purchased by they have been too expensive so far. Probably because, these speakers have been worth every penny. They still hold their value today.

Snake

The RAPCO 12x4, 100ft Club Series snake is a must have component for this solution. With the power amps, speakers, mics and instruments at the stage, the sound system, when run by a sound person for an example, needs to be in the back of the room/space. The snake provides this ability. I picked this and a handful of multi-channel patch cables up used from a guy who as closing down his home studio. Having been used inside a studio, connected and left connected, the only wear was from the electrons running through the copper cable. Another great deal. I used it when I do sound and am not performing. I may use it when I am performing however when running the board myself while playing, the rack will be next to me and I am able to forgo the need for 100ft of cable although it does help neaten up the mic cables up front.

Microphones

Mics are all Shure 57s and 58s. These are considered industry standards. Also standard is the use of the 57s on guitar amps or acoustic instruments and four 58s for vocals. The 58s have the wind screen allowing them to better filter the pops. Each 58 mic channel is assigned an individual compress/limiter and the 57s channels assigned to compression/gate. Compression/limiter/gate is also assigned to each main channel.

On occasion, I have borrowed friends SM81s for area mic'ing

Cabling

Cabling is all Pro quality and gently connected and disconnected and appropriately wound, strapped and stores after each use. The prices for these things are insane and as a result I treat them like I expect them to last for ever. I have a lot of redundancy on the XLR Microphone cables because even the same band will set up differently in each venue. The introduction of the snake late in the game at front center stage has really lessens the needs for the 50' and 100'ers at this point. I do not bring the 100'ers anymore to lighten the load.

At left are two Monster banana cables, my newest addition. Got these through Amazon. (Sorry Mrs. Russo)

Other cables include:

    12 gauge 1/4" mono speaker cables (4 x 6', 2 x 10', 4 x 25'_
    Pro XLR Microphone Cables (2 x 10' XLR-1/4" , 3 x 10' , 7 x 20', 1 x 50', 3 x 100')
    Mono patch cables (10 x 1/4" ,
    Guitar cables (6 x 1/4"),
    RCA to 1/4", XLR to 1/4", etc, etc after years of something new to connect at a show

Stands

The vocal microphone stand I use are Byerdynamic. I bought these new back in the mid 90s at Russo. At the time I wanted the best and Mike (last name escapes me) came out with these and said he swears by them. I bought 5 at the time and which I had bought more. They are built like tanks and extremely stable. They take a beating show after show and continue to operate with zero problems. Beyond durability, the thing you like the most about them are their versatility. They can be adjusted for absolutely any position from head to toe and at any angle. I also have three smaller stands I use for mic'ing amps.

WilliamKerr.com

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